University researchers discover new species of venomous snake

University researchers discover new species of venomous snake

6 years ago
Anonymous $RBasgWKaIV

https://phys.org/news/2018-07-university-species-venomous-snake.html

Dr. Kevin Arbuckle is leading the molecular data analysis part of the research at Swansea. He said: "We are extremely excited to have identified this new species. After conducting the analyses of molecular data, we found that we had indeed found a distinctly different species than the bandy-bandys known previously."

It could be said that the last thing Australia needs is another venomous snake but as Dr. Arbuckle points out, this new species could have distinct benefits. "Due to their secretive habitats, small size, and venom that is not highly toxic to humans, the Weipa bandy-bandy is of no threat to us. In fact, once the venom of this new species is investigated, its complex mixture of biologically active chemicals has the potential to lead to future drug developments that could help humans."